USA: Tesla Motors begins delivering Model S electric cars in a Silicon Valley milestone Tesla Motors (TSLA) on Friday rolled out the first Model S luxury sedans for customers, a milestone that many hope could rev up the entire electric car industry and help return high-end manufacturing jobs to California. Hundreds of Tesla employees, dignitaries and media jammed a small corner of the cavernous factory to wait for a Silicon Valley first: electric cars rolling off a Fremont assembly line aimed at Middle America. Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk told the crowd that the company aimed at nothing less than showing “that an electric car can in fact be the best car in the world.” Turning to the assembled employees in red T-shirts, he added: “Thanks to the fantastic team here at Tesla. You rock!” Jeff Skoll, eBay’s (EBAY) first president, was the first customer to drive off in a gleaming red Model S. He has invested millions in the company and praised Tesla for delivering the cars ahead of schedule, even though many experts said it couldn’t be done. “We were talking about which is harder to build, a rocket or a car,” said Skoll, referring to the fact that Advertisement Musk is also CEO of the rocket company SpaceX. “We decided it was a car. There isn’t a lot of competition in space.” Gov. Jerry Brown, who was greeted with wild cheers, called the rollout “another example of California on the move — cutting-edge technology picking up where others left off. It takes courage, a lot of risk-taking, a lot of money.” Swinging back at those who say California, mired in debt, has lost its footing, Brown said, “All of you are part of the state that is leading the country, if not the world. This car is another example of (that) boldness.” The stakes are high for the success of the Model S, and not just for Tesla. Its efforts represent a chance for California to add more high-end manufacturing jobs amid a continuing sluggish economy and a 10.8 percent unemployment rate. And the electric car industry, which has suffered from setbacks and sluggish sales over the past year, needs a boost. “It marks, hopefully, the transformation of Tesla from a wannabe to a mainstream automaker,” said John O’Dell, a senior editor at auto information site Edmunds.com.

Tesla Motors (TSLA) on Friday rolled out the first Model S luxury sedans for customers, a milestone that many hope could rev up the entire electric car industry and help return high-end manufacturing jobs to California.
Hundreds of Tesla employees, dignitaries and media jammed a small corner of the cavernous factory to wait for a Silicon Valley first: electric cars rolling off a Fremont assembly line aimed at Middle America.
Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk told the crowd that the company aimed at nothing less than showing “that an electric car can in fact be the best car in the world.”
Turning to the assembled employees in red T-shirts, he added: “Thanks to the fantastic team here at Tesla. You rock!”
Jeff Skoll, eBay’s (EBAY) first president, was the first customer to drive off in a gleaming red Model S. He has invested millions in the company and praised Tesla for delivering the cars ahead of schedule, even though many experts said it couldn’t be done.
“We were talking about which is harder to build, a rocket or a car,” said Skoll, referring to the fact that
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Musk is also CEO of the rocket company SpaceX. “We decided it was a car. There isn’t a lot of competition in space.”
Gov. Jerry Brown, who was greeted with wild cheers, called the rollout “another example of California on the move — cutting-edge technology picking up where others left off. It takes courage, a lot of risk-taking, a lot of money.”
Swinging back at those who say California, mired in debt, has lost its footing, Brown said, “All of you are part of the state that is leading the country, if not the world. This car is another example of (that) boldness.”
The stakes are high for the success of the Model S, and not just for Tesla. Its efforts represent a chance for California to add more high-end manufacturing jobs amid a continuing sluggish economy and a 10.8 percent unemployment rate. And the electric car industry, which has suffered from setbacks and sluggish sales over the past year, needs a boost.
“It marks, hopefully, the transformation of Tesla from a wannabe to a mainstream automaker,” said John O’Dell, a senior editor at auto information site Edmunds.com.
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1 comment to USA: Tesla Motors begins delivering Model S electric cars in a Silicon Valley milestone Tesla Motors (TSLA) on Friday rolled out the first Model S luxury sedans for customers, a milestone that many hope could rev up the entire electric car industry and help return high-end manufacturing jobs to California. Hundreds of Tesla employees, dignitaries and media jammed a small corner of the cavernous factory to wait for a Silicon Valley first: electric cars rolling off a Fremont assembly line aimed at Middle America. Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk told the crowd that the company aimed at nothing less than showing “that an electric car can in fact be the best car in the world.” Turning to the assembled employees in red T-shirts, he added: “Thanks to the fantastic team here at Tesla. You rock!” Jeff Skoll, eBay’s (EBAY) first president, was the first customer to drive off in a gleaming red Model S. He has invested millions in the company and praised Tesla for delivering the cars ahead of schedule, even though many experts said it couldn’t be done. “We were talking about which is harder to build, a rocket or a car,” said Skoll, referring to the fact that Advertisement Musk is also CEO of the rocket company SpaceX. “We decided it was a car. There isn’t a lot of competition in space.” Gov. Jerry Brown, who was greeted with wild cheers, called the rollout “another example of California on the move — cutting-edge technology picking up where others left off. It takes courage, a lot of risk-taking, a lot of money.” Swinging back at those who say California, mired in debt, has lost its footing, Brown said, “All of you are part of the state that is leading the country, if not the world. This car is another example of (that) boldness.” The stakes are high for the success of the Model S, and not just for Tesla. Its efforts represent a chance for California to add more high-end manufacturing jobs amid a continuing sluggish economy and a 10.8 percent unemployment rate. And the electric car industry, which has suffered from setbacks and sluggish sales over the past year, needs a boost. “It marks, hopefully, the transformation of Tesla from a wannabe to a mainstream automaker,” said John O’Dell, a senior editor at auto information site Edmunds.com.